Improvement in galvanic soles



S. NOWLAN.v Gaivanic Shoe Sole.

. Patented june 18, 1861.

r ,m n, 1 4l, In l' UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

SAMUEL NOWLAN, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO CHARLES METTAM 85 CO., OFSAME PLACE.l

IMPROVEMENT IN GALVANIC SOLES.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, SAMUEL NowLAN, of New York, in the county of NewYork and State of New York, have invented a new and Improved GalvanicSole for Medical Purposes, applicable as an interior fitting or liningto or of boots, shoes, and slippers; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing, taken in connection with the accompanying drawings, that formpart of this specification, is such a full and clear description thereofas to enable others skilled in contrivances to which this my improvementrelates to make and use the same.

In the accompanying drawings, Figure l represents a plan view of theimproved sole; Fig. 2, a longitudinal section thereof 5 and Fig. 3 aplan view of the skeleton-insulator belonging to the same detached. f

One of the many applications of galvanic or voltaic electricity has beenthe formation of different articles of wear about the personin the shapeof rings, chains,boot and shoe soles, Sac., composed of copper and zinc,or their chemical equivalents or substitutes, and which, as positivesand negatives in close contact or juxtaposition, develop a large orcontinuous amount of electricity of feeble intensity that, acting uponthe nerves of the wearer, is found beneficial for various complaints orinfirmities. That copper and zinc or their equivalents will, whenbrought in contact, establish vol-taie electricity without the aid, asin the galvanic battery, of an acidulous exciting medium, is a factbeyond a doubt, and the only problem requiring solution, so far as thepracticability of such to medical purposes is concerned, is, whatis thebest or cheapest and most efficient mode of developingor applying thesame? Among the best applications of the kind have been loose or innersoles for boots and shoes, as before referred to, because these, actingon or against the feet, transmit the electricity developed by themupwardly through the body, and because the heat evolved by the contactof the positive and negative plates of said soles serves, in a gentlemanner, to keep the feet warm,while the acid contained in theperspiration which exudes from the feet quickens or excites theelectrical capacity'of the plates, also, because positives andnegatives, in the form of plates, are preferable to many or most others,and for other reasons. rTo form an efcient voltaic pile, however, it isdesirable to employ a multiplicity of plates or plate-sections separateat their edges from each other in preference to a single plate or platesof equal area and thickness. The galvanic soles heretofore used orproposed have been defective in this respect as well as in the bindingrigidity of lthe same to the foot. They have, it is true, been made intwo or three sections, hinged together at or near the front of thetread, to give certain pliability; but such is a very insignificantprovision, or no provision at all, either as regards general pliabilityor multiplication and division of the plate-surfaces. This and otherradical defects are obviated by my improvement, which largely enhancesthe value, in a working or medical capacity and in other respects, ofsuch contrivances, as the following description will serve to explain.

` Referring to the drawings, the sole is or may n be made up of twonegative tiers, in preference to one, with the positive in between them,or this order may be reversed. The negative or upper and lower tier ofthe pile is or may be formed of copper plates or sections a a a a, andthe positive of Zinc plates or sections b b b b, so divided and keptseparate, preferably longitudinally as well as transversely of or to.lthe sole, as to establish a multiplicity of negatives and positives withtheir contiguous edges exposed and breaking contact, whereby a moreefficient sole-battery is produced, and so as to establish anarticulated character to the sole of general pliability.

The several sections of the copper and zinc plates are or may beconnected or hinged together by a flexible insulating strip or stripsof, say, india-rubber or any other suitable material, united to thesectional plates by metah lic or other eyelets, c. This makes a cheap,expeditious, and efcient mode of holding together the articulated soleformed of sections, as described; and in order to give a more unitedcharacter to the whole, as well as to facilitate manufacture, I preferto connect several or all of the sections, in the manner described, by asingle insulating-strip or interposed medium, d, made with perforationsin it, or of skeleton form or build,4 so as to admit of the copper andzinc plates, or rather those by means of a flexible insulating strip orstrips and eyelet fastening, substantially as described, and for thepurpose set forth.

In testimonyr whereof I have signed my name to Ithis speciiicationbefore two subscribing Witnesses.

SAMUEL NOWLAN.

Witnesses:

A. PoLLoK, C. L. HUGHIJs.

